<p>Hey Guys,</p>
<p>I will be attending the University of Chicago next year as an incoming freshman, and I was curious about the greek life. I believe I am interested in joining a fraternity when I arrive, so I was hoping to receive an unbiased review of all the fraternities. Which are more or less social than the others? Which ones party harder? Which ones are more respected on campus? Which ones have the athletes? Which ones have the geeks? Any other information would also be very helpful. Thanks!</p>
<p>i’d also like some info on this</p>
<p>None of them are particular well respected, for better or worse. They tend to get a bad rap on campus, even though they’re not particularly rowdy or obnoxious. There are a lot of good kids in the frats here. In general though, Greek life is marginalized. Although there are signs that the balance is starting to shift. </p>
<p>SigEp has the nerds, Fiji has the football team, PsiU (known for best parties) has the yuppies and soccer players, DU is probably the most ‘bro-y’ (expect pastels. and cutoffs. and lawn sports), AEpi is the Jewish frat, Lambda is the asian frat, AlphaDelt hosts prospie parties and has bar nights every week (also has stickiest floor), and the others are more low-key. There are 12 total, I believe, but those are the most visible. I’m also giving you short descriptions highly cemented in stereotypes, so don’t buy too much in to them. Most likely, you’ll end up in whichever frat has a higher presence in your house, because you’ll make friends with them first.</p>
<p>Best advice I can give: DO NOT rush any frat Fall Quarter of your first year. </p>
<p>First of all, you probably won’t have a good idea of where you “belong.” Everyone has their reasons for joining whatever fraternity they’re in, but joining Psi U because they throw the most consistently good parties or joining AEPi because you’re Jewish is probably a bad call. Hell, I hadn’t even heard of my fraternity until Winter of my first year. Get to know the brothers (most important), and make sure you’re aware of how your peers and upperclassmen regard that fraternity. Fraternities are indeed a social status, and people will judge you according to which one you join, for better or worse.</p>
<p>Second, Fall Quarter of your first year is crucial in terms of establishing friendships and building your social network. I’m not saying you need to form a clique by second week, but if you don’t know anyone by the end of Fall Quarter it’s gonna be a lot harder to meet people for the rest of the year. Fraternities can and usually do provide a stable friend group, but the pledge process means you’ll spend your time almost exclusively with the frat brothers, and when you do pledge you’ll want to have friends outside the fraternity to fall back on.</p>
<p>In short, don’t feel like you need to rush right away. I’d say the best time to do it would be Spring of first year or Fall of second year. And I could go into detailed analysis of each of the fraternities on campus, but honestly it would be best for you to get to know them once you’re on campus.</p>
<p>Last tip: don’t rush Alpha Delt. That place is a legitimate stigma.</p>